


weirdFishes

by MalevolentReverie



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Age Play, Alien Rey, Alien Sex, Aliens, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, But there are strong age play dynamics here, Darkfic, Dominant Kylo Ren, Dystopia, F/M, Heavy Angst, Human Kylo, Implied Childhood Sexual Abuse, Master/Pet, Past Sexual Abuse, Power Dynamics, Power Imbalance, Recidivism, Rey is mostly mute, Rey is not actually underage, Shapeshifting, She shape shifts into a teenager, Some DDLG vibes, Submissive Rey (Star Wars), Trafficking, Weird Fluff, so i’m tagging underage just to be safe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:14:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24334192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MalevolentReverie/pseuds/MalevolentReverie
Summary: Rey is an alien reserved for humans in need of ‘emotional support.’ She falls into the possession of ex-con Ben.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 461
Kudos: 905





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this is going to have very strong age play dynamics, not to the point of diaper use or anything, but rey is going to shapeshift to accommodate ben’s tastes. i don’t intend on her shape shifting to mimic anyone under 14 or so.
> 
> this is going to be pretty fucked up so beware

“The key is to take them away from their mothers when they’re still infants.”

Metal shrieks somewhere in the distance, and Rey slowly opens her eyes. Someone is coming for her—perhaps. It could just be another visitor stopping by to comment on her flaws and her price and ask to see the next available ESO. Pass her over, like they always do. Choose another.

Shoes click on the concrete floor. A woman. That’s surprising. Typically men come to collect her; pay the hefty price after committing a hefty crime.

Rey sits up on her cot and rubs her eyes. She feels the same flutter of excitement every time someone comes for a viewing: today may be the day she leaves this place and never returns. Some of her kind find families and children to care for. Humans accept them. She hopes for that kind of future for herself.

“As long as she can shapeshift,” a woman says, “I don’t care about anything else.”

“Rey can assume many forms, human or animal, depending on your… needs.”

The woman scoffs. “It’s for my _son_ , Mister Neal. The court insists he have one of these… these…”

“Emotional support objects.”

“Yes. That.”

Rey washes her face in the small sink next to her toilet. Her reflection isn’t quite human enough—though most of her alien features are hidden, she hasn’t perfected their plain, simian faces. She frowns and runs a finger along the pointed tip of her ear, trailing her wide, bright green eyes. Someday she’ll be good enough for them.

A loud buzz heralds the arrival of her guests. Rey smooths the front of her jumpsuit and clasps her hands in front of her, then behind her back. A bright light flicks on overhead and blinds her for a moment but she doesn’t close her eyes, afraid the buyer won’t like her if she does.

Typically there’s some conversation. The humans gather in a separate viewing room to make their decision, and Rey often paces her cage and wrings her hands waiting for the inevitable—

“She’ll do. Who do I make the check out to?”

Lights fade. Rey blinks rapidly and rubs the black spots from her eyes, hearts racing. She’s dreamed of this day for many years and now it’s here and she can hardly believe it. So fast. Sudden. The buyer couldn’t have gotten a very good look before deciding.

She sits on the edge of her cot and folds her hands in her lap, vibrating with excitement. Now she waits.

—•—

“Awful _thin_ , isn’t she?”

Several hours later and Rey is in the holding area just outside her cell meeting her buyer: a middle-aged woman named Leia. She stands very still while Leia pokes and prods her ribs, critical to Mister Neal, the man who owns the entire compound.

Mr. Neal has a pinched face more like a rat than a human man. He smiles, stiffly.

“Rey is very healthy,” he says. “We can have her spayed before she leaves.”

“No, that’s quite alright.” Leia tugs Rey’s mouth open to examine her rows of fangs. “As long as it isn’t possible for him to impregnate her and give me a _real_ heart attack. She’s been through enough.”

“Her species is very resilient, Miss Organa. Rey was separated from her mother at a young age; she’s quite happy to do whatever is asked of her.”

Leia is dressed very nice, as humans go. Jewelry that sparkles. Rey looks down at her tattered jumpsuit and furrows her brow. Perhaps she should have worn the other one.

Leia waves Mr. Neal off and hands him a check for ten thousand dollars. He plucks it from her fingertips.

“Thank you, Mister Neal,” she says, smiling, but her tone seems displeased. “I’m sure my son will be delighted.”

Sarcasm. Humans seem to like it, but Rey doesn’t understand the appeal.

She’s given the opportunity to collect her meager belongings from her cell: a pendant from her mother that contains water from K2-18b and a music box with a pirouetting ballerina inside. Leia hovers by the door texting and motions for Rey to follow when she’s ready. It’s very exciting. She hasn’t stepped foot outside the compound in some time.

“Ben recently left prison,” Leia says as they walk through heavy steel doors. “No probation, but the courts require him to have one of you living with him or he’ll have to take horrendous drugs that will chemically castrate him.”

Rey nods. She waves to a friend she sees through the cafeteria window. Goodbye. Good luck.

“I’ve already prepared a room for you in his home but the clothes there may not fit. You’ll have to go shopping with him at some point for more.” Leia rolls her eyes and walks through the final door. “He certainly has the free time, being unemployed.”

Ben. That’s a nice name.

Leia brings her to a big gray vehicle and motions for her to take the passenger seat. It’s quite cold out and strange being outside the barbed wire gate surrounding the compound, and Rey pauses to look back, fingers wrapped around the door handle. It’s been many years.

“Rey, dear. Come along.”

She quickly opens the door and scrambles inside, eager to escape the miserable cold. Her home planet is a warm, dry place; very unlike this place on Earth. She wouldn’t survive long in these temperatures, even with protection.

Others have fled the compound and met a grisly end. Rey prefers to avoid that fate.

She folds her hands politely in her lap, rearranging several times and glancing at Leia from the corner of her eye. The others always said to make a good first impression by being quiet and obedient. Speaking is difficult; cumbersome and unnatural to her. Much easier to nod and use nonverbal cues humans like.

Leia pulls out of the parking lot, sighing. “I’m not the biggest proponent of this system, Rey. Just so you know. But if it’s between adopting you or watching my son be drugged into oblivion—well, it’s an easy choice. Does that make sense?”

Yes. Pair bonds are important to humans. They’re highly social animals. Rey nods.

“Good. You seem like a nice… girl.” Leia glances at her and smiles and Rey smiles back. “My phone number is on the refrigerator if you ever need something, or if Ben is being more miserable than usual. I’ll come right away, whether you speak or use that clicking nonsense.”

Rey makes a few clicks and that makes Leia laugh. Humans find her language strange. Amusing.

She settles into her seat and beams out the window. Exciting. She’s going to a new home. This is _very_ exciting.

—•—

They travel some forty minutes to an hour before arriving at Ben’s house. It’s down a long winding driveway, a large cabin shrouded by trees and dusted with snow, and it reminds Rey of pictures she’s seen from National Parks. A camp. It’s very nice.

Leia pulls up to the porch and unhooks her seatbelt. “Just call me if you need something, dear, okay?”

Rey nods and gets out of the vehicle after she does. She clutches her small plastic bag with her only belongings and shivers as Leia knocks on the edge of the screen door. It’s quiet here. Very cold. There will certainly be no running away from here.

Even if she _did_ —which she wouldn’t—her collar has a tracking device. It’s best to get along with the humans.

Leia waits a minute before muttering and taking out a key from her back pocket. She unlocks the door and steps inside, ushering Rey in and shutting out the cold. Brr. Good thing. Her metabolism stops very quickly when the temperature drops.

“Ben?” Leia calls. “Are you awake?”

Rey bounces on the balls of her feet as she looks around the small cabin. It’s very cozy. Very nice. The furniture looks comfortable and there’s even a fire crackling, casting a warm glow across the wooden floors. Some décor. Most of it is foreign to her. It’s very nice. Very cozy.

Floorboards creak upstairs. Rey’s hearts beat a little quicker with anticipation and she wrings her hands. Sometimes it’s difficult to maintain her human form when she’s emotional, and she’s very excited to meet Ben. Is he nice? Why did he go to prison?

Leia taps her foot and glares at the stairs. It’s quiet, then someone starts down them.

Ben lumbers into view, holding a bottle of liquor by the neck and raising his eyebrows at Leia and Rey. He’s rather large for a human and a little pale; crooked in the face and long in the jaw. He is not what Rey has learned is the conventionally attractive human male.

He pushes up a red flannel sleeve. “What’s this?”

“Ben, this is Rey.” Leia puts an arm around her shoulders and squeezes. “Your emotional support… alien. Isn’t she lovely?”

Ben raises his thick black eyebrows and rolls his eyes, taking a swig from his bottle. It settles in his fingertips as he proceeds down the rest of the stairs, swaying, brown eyes hooded. He’s inebriated.

He studies Rey, meandering closer for his inspection, and she tries to smile. He’s very tall. He smells strongly of alcohol and that makes her anxious. Humans that drink often have no control over it. They’re a species that enjoys their vices.

“She talk?” he asks, staring into her eyes.

“I think she prefers her language, but I’m sure you two will figure it out.” Leia’s arm slips away. “Maybe put the cap on that whiskey and consider bringing her to the mall for some clothes, Benjamin.”

“What’s she need clothes for?” He keeps staring and Rey reddens.

Leia huffs. She thrusts a bag out to him and shoves it in his arms when he doesn’t accept it.

“Make sure she gets her injection once a week or she’ll become aggressive. She eats her food _whole_ and prefers it raw. Mister Neal recommended a small chicken once a week.”

Ben smiles a little. His hungry eyes wander down her front.

“What a woman,” he says.

“She isn’t a woman; that’s the fucking point. It’s this or take the drugs, Ben.”

Rey looks down at her hands, long knobby fingers tipped with talons. No, she isn’t a woman. They have such nice hands.

Ben snorts and wanders off toward the kitchen. “Fine, I’ll keep it away from water and won’t feed it after midnight. Is that all?”

“You’re not being allowed to join the board of directors again. Not yet.”

“There’s a big fucking surprise. Send Hux my regards.”

“You went to prison for—” Leia hesitates and glances at Rey. “…It isn’t a crime that the public will forget about anytime soon. I still maintain control in your absence and you’ll still be on the books.”

He doesn’t respond. Rey senses tension in her bones, because she’s attuned to these things in humans, and Leia storms out without another word.

The cabin falls into silence. A drink pours and Rey peeks in the direction of the sound. Is he angry with her? She’s trying her best. Should’ve worn the other jumpsuit instead of this one.

Ben ambles into the kitchen doorway and leans on it. He stares at her and sips his drink.

“Your bedroom is upstairs.”

Rey takes the hint. She nods and scurries up the stairs, relieved that she has a safe place to hide from him. For now. He’ll feel better once he sobers up.

And she finally has a home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 5 chapters yeah right

The bedroom is… cozy.

It’s larger than Rey’s cell, which is a welcome change, and the walls are rough rounded wood sealed along their seams. Her bed has a lovely red checkered spread and is also made of thick logs that match the walls. She has her own wardrobe and closet and a pretty red area rug, plus thick red curtains to keep out the sunlight. It’s lovely.

Rey plays with the curtains for a few minutes, beaming as she slides them back and forth. Her own bedroom. This is lovely. Tight spaces are nice—she feels more secure in tight spaces.

She investigates the different decorations on the walls: a painting of a mountain and a gruesome beheaded deer with large antlers. Her dresser has a runner across the top and a mirror where she assumes she’s free to use makeup or sharpen her fangs. Maybe. Humans don’t like that, though.

It’s a very nice home. Rey sits on the edge of her new bed and claps her hands lightly so they don’t make a sound and disturb Ben. Very exciting. It seemed after her last placement failed that she may not have any hope for a family, but this can work. She’ll make it work. Ben and Leia are kind humans.

If it doesn’t work—if she fails again like she did with Isaac—

She brushes the anxiety from her mind, hopping up to arrange her music box on the dresser. She tries a couple different angles until she’s pleased with it catching the light from the window just to the right of her bed. That looks nice.

“You shapeshift?”

Rey looks up, surprised Ben escaped her notice. Her fingers linger on the music box as she studies him leaning on the door frame, dark eyes hooded. He’s very large for a human. He’s carrying his bottle of liquor around the neck, clearly in no hurry to stop nursing from it. Humans and their oral fixation.

She nods, hesitant. Her collar suppresses most of her other gifts but shape shifting remains.

Ben nods in return. He’s quiet, taking another long swig from his bottle before he shrugs off the door.

“Leia got some clothes,” he says, gesturing with a lazy dismissive hand. “You can change.”

He wanders away without another word. A door shuts in the distance and Rey peers into the hallway to find it empty. Strange.

But she’s excited to see her clothes and quickly forgets her new roommate. There are all kinds of things folded in the drawers and hanging up in the closet: dresses and pants and even a pair of jeans, and blouses and t-shirts and sweaters of all colors. She pulls a few things out to admire them before grabbing an armful to lug to her bed. It will make things cozier, and she can touch the assorted soft fabrics whenever she pleases.

Rey spends some time picking through the clothes until she settles on a green sleeveless dress and jeans. She frowns once she’s changed and decides to add a pretty pink sweater—and that does the trick. She chirps a little, pleased with her choice, and resumes arranging her new wardrobe into a semicircle. These should insulate well. She’ll never be cold here.

A door opens, and as she turns, Rey sees Ben shuffling to her doorway. He’s changed into dark loose-fitting clothing and red slippers, and raises his eyebrows.

“You should probably burn that shit,” he drawls. “Leia got it from Goodwill.” He puts his hands in his pockets, gaze wandering down her outfit. “You look like you’re in a cult.”

Rey looks back at her fledgling nest, perturbed, tapping her fingertips. They smell fine. Clean. Why waste perfectly good insulation?

Ben ambles into her bedroom, looking around. “I’ll bring you out tomorrow—Leia said you need sunshine a couple minutes a day, anyway. What’re you doing over here?”

He comes to inspect her bed and Rey can’t suppress a distressed whimper. She winces, expecting him to be angry; she isn’t supposed to talk back or impede inspection, but it isn’t done, and she doesn’t want his scent all over it. It’s selfish to want her own space. Very selfish. Not emotionally supportive.

Ben sways back a step, holding up his hands and smiling. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to intrude.”

Rey keeps flinching, waiting for a strike for her disobedience. Humans have an uncanny ability to say one thing and mean another.

But instead she receives an awkward pat on the head, then on the shoulder. He squeezes lightly and pats her again before he lumbers to the door again. Rey hesitantly opens an eye, squinting at his retreating back. Isn’t he angry?

“I’ll come get you in the morning,” Ben calls. “Down the hall if you need me.”

She remains frozen until the door shuts down the hall. Slowly, Rey defrosts, slinking to her own door to peek out into the dark, empty hallway. Hm. Strange.

—•—

Typically Rey is granted five hours of sleep, even though she requires much more, so she’s groggy and surprised when she wakes up to the afternoon sun.

Oh no. She overslept.

Panicking, Rey falls out of bed in her haste, hearts pounding. She scrambles to her feet and rushes out to the landing, frantically running her fingers through her hair to look somewhat presentable for her human. Oh no. This is… this is horrid. She should have requested he wake her—she’s made a mistake.

Her human form wavers as she hurries down the stairs, eyes filling with tears. He’s going to be even _more_ angry when he sees her failing to keep her appearance straight the way she’s supposed to. She’s going to be punished severely. Her first day and she’s already making unforgivable mistakes.

Rey hesitates at the bottom of the stairs, sniffling and wringing her clawed hands. She closes her eyes and tries to catch her breath; tries to rearrange her appearance so it isn’t quite as offensively alien. If she can get one thing right, maybe he won’t be quite as angry with her.

Trembling, she shuffles into the kitchen doorway, shoulders hunched and head bowed.

Ben is facing the stove—in her panic she didn’t notice the smell of food but now the scent is plainly obvious and distracts her for a moment. Her mouth waters. Meat. It’s been so long since she’s had real meat, and she imagines sinking her fangs into something hot and wet—

“People are going to think I kidnapped you if you wear that out in public.”

She blinks. Ben’s dark eyes assess her, much sharper than they were last night—he’s clean and showered and has his hair pulled back. He’s dressed: a gray slacks with a black belt and a navy sweater, with a shirt underneath that’s rolled up to the elbows. Much different from last night. Very different.

He raises his eyebrows, sucking his his cheek as he turns back around. “Well… I thought it was funny.”

Rey hesitates, waiting for him to shout or send her upstairs, but he carries on cooking. Sunlight pours through the window over the sink and the sliding glass door at the other end of the kitchen. The microwave says it’s nearly one in the afternoon, long past her usual waking time of five AM.

Her eyes flicker to the back of Ben’s head. He must be angry with her. Why does he have to torment her like this? Can’t he just punish her and get it over with?

“You were fast asleep when I woke up,” he calls. Shrugs. “I thought you could use the rest.” He turns a bit to regard her again. “Not sure if you can eat any of this but… if you’d like some, you’re welcome to it.”

Rey doesn’t move. Her hearts pound, head swimming. She might faint. He _must_ be angry. He has to be angry. Why are humans never forward?

Tears well up and spill down her cheeks but she manages to keep from outright sobbing. Ben cocks his head, frowning. His calm disposition is confusing and upsetting and she wishes he wouldn’t conceal his emotions—she hates when they do that.

He watches her for a moment, then turns back.

“I’m sorry that you have to stay here.” The pan sizzles and he pauses. “I don’t expect you to…” He gesticulates toward the ceiling, clearing his throat. “ _Do_ anything for me—just live here so I don’t have to go back to prison. Tolerate my heavy drinking. Watch reruns of MASH.”

Rey sniffles. She taps her fingertips together, unsure of what he means but too dizzy to keep standing. She takes a seat at the small hewn wooden table and continues watching him from under her lashes. He doesn’t expect her to _do_ anything? Then why did he buy her? All of them expect _something._

Ben takes several more minutes to finish cooking and carries a plate of food to the table. One is stacked with brownish strips of meat, some burnt, and her sniffles fade at the strong scent. She stares, lips parting. Meat. Real meat, not a slurry. Pungent and warm and as close to live prey as she’s ever been.

Her fingers twitch in her lap. She hardly notices Ben return with two glasses of water but blinks when his chair scrapes.

He smiles, motioning to it. “Never had bacon before? You can try it if you want.”

Her eyes flicker to the bacon and back to Ben’s amused face. He nods, pushing the plate toward her, and picks up a piece to pop in his mouth. He chews and pushes the plate closer, then goes to eating his own food, some rounded cake that smells unappealing.

Rey hesitates, waiting for him to be distracted eating before she selects a small piece of bacon. She turns it over in the light, mouth watering—then nibbles the end with the tips of her fangs.

It’s _salty._ Extremely salty. Warm, crunchy; it’s like nothing she’s ever tasted and she resists the instinct to shove it down her throat before it’s taken away. Isaac would buy her whole chickens to consume once a week, but they were cold and slimy and often partly rotted; ideal for making her skin to excrete the hallucinatory poison that he liked.

This is much different. Delicious.

She finishes her piece and licks her fingers clean, eyeing the plate but waiting for permission to indulge in more. Ben smiles, faintly.

“Go ahead, Rey. Have as much as you want.”

It takes one more nod before she takes another piece—and another, and another. She tries to pace herself but it tastes delicious and she’s afraid he’s going to take away from her. When he isn’t looking she stashes some down the front of her sweater, in case he takes food as punishment.

She can go some time without food. Isaac starved her for three months before she was taken from him.

Ben looks up as she adjusts her shirt. He’s already much different—Isaac asked her to transform within the first few hours, though he never _touched_. Watched. Made her watch. This human says he doesn’t expect her to do _anything_ , which seems unlikely and strange.

Rey stares at the empty plate. She is happy to serve her master in any capacity. It is her purpose.

“Pretty good, isn’t it?” He sets his cutlery down on his own empty plate and pats his mouth with a napkin. “I hope we’re on the same page now.”

Ben cleans the table and Rey sits quietly in her seat, still confused and unhappy with her failures. She shifts her jaw and stands abruptly after Ben turns off the water, trembling, determined to make him happy. She can’t go back to the compound.

He turns, smiling, patting his hands clean. Maybe he likes the same thing Isaac liked.

Rey transforms; the painless rapid rearrangement of her unstable genetic code. She uses a familiar blueprint from a toy magazine, shifting into her new form in the blink of an eye with a soft pop. Hopefully this is what he likes. She isn’t sure yet, but she doesn’t want to lose her new home.

The clothes drape loosely on her new form: human, but much smaller, roughly ten years of age, and the bacon tumbles noisily to the floor. Her mind is preserved and it’s much easier to keep the gentle features of a human child—she’s much more comfortable in this skin than an adult’s.

But quiet ensues.

Rey taps her fingertips together, waiting with bated breath for Ben’s response. His smile fades and he stares and stares and his expression becomes blank. Anxiety aches in her bones like all powerful human emotions do. He’s upset. Distressed.

She dips her head, trying to show her submissiveness, chirping a soft apology. Her third mistake. Now he’s going to send her away.

The silence stretches for another impossible handful of minutes before he speaks.

“Please change back, Rey.”

She transforms instantly, ashamed, eyes downcast. Ben doesn’t say anything and she’s frightened of what he _might_ say, so she drops to her knees, scrambling to collect her bacon before he takes it away.

Rey backs out of the kitchen, still avoiding his eyes. She bows and bows and hopes he doesn’t come after her, even if she deserves it.

Then she darts upstairs to her new bedroom to squirrel away her food and hide in her nest and cry. They’ll come collect her by the end of the day. At least she got to taste real food again. 


	3. Chapter 3

Rey has just finished hiding her scraps of food when she hears Ben coming up the stairs.

She burrows into her nest, scrambling to conceal herself so she doesn’t have to be punished. He knocks on the door and calls her name— _Rey_?—but she doesn’t respond. Maybe he won’t find her if she hides well enough. Maybe she won’t have to leave.

Ben opens the door.

“Rey?”

She shrinks down when she sees him peering in. He doesn’t look angry: he frowns and checks behind the door as he closes it behind himself, dark eyes wandering the perimeter before settling on her nest. Humans have poor vision. If she just stays still…

“You don’t have to hide,” he says. “I’m not mad.”

She watches him slip his hands in his pockets, head tilted, staring expectantly at her nest. He knows where she is. No use in hiding and making the punishment worse.

Trembling, Rey slowly pushes herself upright. She keeps her shoulders hunched and only glances at Ben from under her lashes, hoping he won’t be angry if she’s as apologetic as possible. She shouldn’t have assumed what he expected of her. Woke up late, ate too much, stole food. Failure upon failure.

He crouches at the side of the bed, hands clasped between his knees. Rey sniffles and avoids his eyes. She’s failed. Again. Already.

“I’m not mad,” Ben says. His tongue rolls inside his cheek. “I’m not sure what Leia told you, but you don’t have to do any of that for me.”

But she’s _supposed to_ —shapeshifting to give humans emotional comfort is her primary purpose. Perhaps she chose the wrong age or gender. Perhaps he doesn’t want a defective emotional support object.

It’s hard to tell when humans are so difficult to understand. Reading or writing would make it easier, but she is not permitted to learn.

Rey nods, struggling to restrain her tears. This is all very confusing. Why is he not angry? He should be angry. No other emotional response makes sense based on her two decades of experience with his species, and yet—he claims he is not upset with her.

“It must be very confusing moving from a strict routine to none at all.”

 _Yes_. She hesitates, concerned he may construe her agreement as a criticism. Routines make things easier; straightforward. If she wakes at a certain time, eats certain food, dresses a certain way, her day is regimented and his expectations are clear.

Ben rises. He asks to sit on her bed and she nods fast. He sits. The bed creaks. Rey watches him examine his large hands, then he heaves a sigh, broad shoulders rising and falling.

“I don’t want to impose anything on you,” he says. “I feel guilty enough.” He looks back at her, smiling faintly when she attempts a smile. “But I can give you more structure if that’s what you want.”

She nods and so does he. Please. All this uncertainty and freedom was nice but now it upsets her.

“Okay.” Ben’s gaze wanders down her clothes. “I can do that. Why don’t I help you pick something to wear so we can go to the mall?”

The clothes Ben picks from her pile are thick and warm and insulating. ‘Matching’ is a foreign concept to her but he shrugs and says ‘that’ll do’ and she’s pleased to fit in with the humans. She matches. Her pants are tight and the sweater is red and much too big but Ben thinks it’s okay.

She brushes her hair and loops it into three buns, a traditional style for the females of her kind. Her hearts pound when she steps out of the restroom—what if he doesn’t like it?—but Ben raises his eyebrows and tilts his head, curious.

“That’s pretty.”

He walks downstairs without another word. Warmth creeps up Rey’s neck and she rubs it away, shivering for a reason she can’t quite place.

—•—

The mall is frightening place.

Ben helps Rey from his large vehicle into a parking lot full of other vehicles, each parked in line beside or behind the other. Humans wander with strollers and small humans that skip or run and are often chased. She isn’t accustomed to large crowds of humans—and grows uneasy once inside the building.

The lighting is harsh but it’s paradoxically difficult to see. Rey presses against Ben’s arm, cowering from a loud child that runs through the doors and bumps into her. Ben loops his long arm around her middle and guides her toward racks of clothing all stacked close together. It’s tighter and darker. The carpets have odd dark stains.

“I haven’t been out in a while,” he says, “so bear with me while I find the women’s section.”

His hand slides away and anxiety jolts through her chest. Rey chirps and seizes the back of his jacket before he moves too far.

Ben stops. She releases, flexing her hands, bowing her head. She shouldn’t touch him without permission but this place is loud and a faint, unpleasant scent similar to Isaac’s basement hangs thick in the air. Mildew. Must. It reeks of captivity. Do humans like those kinds of smells?

“Sorry.” Ben offers his hand and heat prickles up Rey’s neck again. “I’m used to walking fast.”

She takes it and he threads his thick fingers through hers. She’s never held a human’s hand. It’s a bit sweaty. Rey does not sweat and finds the whole process inefficient and wasteful, but she’s grateful for the touch nonetheless.

Ben leads her through racks of clothing to a narrow aisle: and on the other side, Rey spies brightly colored clothing. It stands out from the shapeless dull tops and bottoms she has wandered through and she’s so thoroughly distracted that she tugs Ben’s hand to stop him. She likes bright colors. Yellow is her favorite.

A small child walks past with its mother. Ben glances at them and gestures toward the drab clothing.

“This is all for teenagers,” he says. “Women’s clothing should be upstairs.”

Oh. She gazes at a yellow dress, nodding as they walk away. It’s pretty. Maybe the adult clothing will be similar.

After a terrifying ordeal with something called an escalator, Ben shows her to the adult female human clothing. Racks and racks of different options await, many of them black or gray or beige, and Rey decides to let him select what he would like her to wear. Maybe she can have a yellow dress if she behaves.

It is hardly her place to complain. She nods each time he shows her something, unsure of what she even likes except the bright colors and interesting patterns on the clothes downstairs. Her human is doing a very nice thing for her. It would be inappropriate to complain about gifts.

And the air is a bit easier to breathe up here. Poor air quality is typically not an issue—her respiratory system is designed for it—but the lower level seems… dangerous. Perhaps they can leave a different way.

“Something wrong, Rey?”

She looks up from studying her hands and quickly shakes her head. Ben is watching, head cocked, holding a shirt with bits of blue in its pattern. All of her clothing will be intended for her adult human form. She thinks, selfishly, that she prefers a smaller form, but that isn’t what Ben wants.

He sets the shirt aside on the pile he’s amassed beside Rey on her bench. He crouches to her eye level, like he did at her bedside, and she avoids his gaze. It makes her nervous. She isn’t sure why.

“ _Well_ …” He clicks his tongue and squints. “We don’t speak the same language and I don’t think you can read or write, so I’ll just have to guess. I’m something of an expert thanks to my ex.”

Ben smiles, perhaps indicating he’s made a joke, but Rey isn’t sure which part was supposed to amuse her. She mirrors his smile anyhow. Humans don’t often attempt to communicate with her at all: she’s given commands and obeys the commands. It typically isn’t a two-way relationship.

It’s difficult to believe this kind man was imprisoned in the past. He’s shown her nothing but kindness. What kind of crime could he have committed?

He bobs his head slightly from side to side, clicking his tongue faster. “You stopped me when we were walking by the kids’ section. Did you like those clothes more?”

She made it too obvious. Now he will find her greedy and ungrateful.

Quiet follows. Rey shrugs helplessly, afraid to admit her preferences and upset Ben. Whatever he chooses will be sufficient. He has already agreed to give her day more structure and providing her a wardrobe will be a welcome part of it.

Muted music mixes with human chatter and laughter. Rey wrings her hands as the tan human skin fades to scales and back again.

“Do you want to wear those clothes because you think it’s what I want?”

She shakes her head. He’s already told her it isn’t what he wants, even if she assumed he would have the same preferences Isaac did. He was unpleasant. He did unpleasant things to human children, and Rey has always had a knack for transforming into children. The assignment made sense.

Ben is so far very pleasant and does not appear to share Isaac’s proclivities. The assignment does not make sense.

He sits beside her, lifting the clothes into his lap and folding them around his thick forearms. Rey glances up and finds him studying her. Quiet.

“I don’t mind if you pick something out,” he says after strained silence, “as long as you know I don’t expect you to…” He gesticulates, then rubs his neck. “Dress up for me. But if it would make you more comfortable, I don’t mind.”

She hesitates, searching his face for any indication he’s testing her or upset with her, but it’s difficult to tell. Rey nods tentatively and Ben stands, offering his hand, clothes piled over his other arm.

They go back downstairs to the section of clothing with bright colors and interesting patterns, and Rey leads Ben straight to the yellow dress. He releases her hand so she can touch it, grasping the thin material and running her fingers along it, stretching it a bit to get a better look. It’s lovely. Pretty. Bright and simple with capped sleeves and intricate flower designs.

She looks up, chirping shyly. Ben is staring at her in a peculiar way, jaw set tight, one hand in the pocket of his dark jeans. He stares and stares and his eyes redden, watering—then he shrugs and nods and rubs his eyes.

“Sure,” he says. He nods, smiling faintly. “You’ll look nice in it.”

Rey beams and picks a larger size that will fit her typical young human shape. Ben does not like very small children so perhaps a slightly larger, slightly older avatar will suffice.

Ben stares. “Do you want to try it on?”

Yes, she should. Just to be sure.

They walk along the back wall to a fitting room with peeling walls and more stained carpets. Rey picks a stall close to the back and Ben waits outside. He doesn’t have to and she chirps as he starts to walk away. She would prefer not to be left alone here.

He rubs his eyes. “I can stay out here. Really.”

Rey taps her fingertips and makes a quick gesture. Please.

“Really, I’ll be right out here,” he insists, and she doesn’t want to push, but she’s afraid he might disappear and leave her in this awful place.

Ben joins her in the stall, taking a seat on the small bench. He averts his eyes when she transforms and his pale skin takes a sickly green hue. His dark eyes stay downcast while Rey shimmies free of her clothes and tugs the yellow dress over her head. This form is a young teenager. Shorter, smaller, less complex.

The dress fits. Her smile stretches wide and shows her sharp teeth as she admires it, and she turns to show Ben, buzzing to catch his attention.

He’s already watching. He nods once and she’s pleased with his approval.

“Pretty,” he says.

Rey transforms and changes into her previous outfit and Ben takes the dress for purchase. He’s quiet while he pays for the items and quiet on the drive back to the cabin. Pensive. She chirps her thanks and it draws out a very small smile and nothing more.

Poor Ben. It seems he’s afraid of children.


	4. Chapter 4

Rey neatly folds her new clothing once home and puts it all away in her dresser. It’s very exciting to have her own bedroom and space for nesting, and once she’s through organizing her clothing she spends time fixing up her nest. A clean nest is important for any self-respecting female—that’s what mother would say.

She touches the hem of her favorite piece of clothing: the dress that fits her in human child form. Ben seems to dislike children so perhaps she’ll wear it only in private. She doesn’t want to make him unhappy.

It’s best to let Ben decide what she should wear.

She closes her bedroom door and pads downstairs to find him, chirping softly in her search. He wouldn’t leave her here alone. Would he? He promised to give her more structure and it’s a frightening prospect to choose her own clothing. What if she chooses wrong?

A whistle comes from the kitchen. “Polo.”

Rey beams and walks along the wall, brushing her fingertips on the smooth paint. Walls are safe. She can always blend in with a wall.

Ben is standing at the island with a small glass in his hand, changed out of his clothing into looser, drab garments. His glass is filled with brownish liquid and Rey hesitates at the doorframe, shrinking back. Oh. He’s drinking alcohol.

He raises his eyebrows, taking a sip, then rolls his lips. It seems to burn. Why do humans drink it?

“Want to try some?” he asks. She shakes her head and he breaks into a wide smile. “No? Afraid you’ll get in trouble?”

Rey hesitates, then nods. He laughs and shakes his head and finishes his drink. Alcohol is poison. Drinking poison deliberately seems… strange.

He takes the cap of his bottle of liquor and pours another glass. “So—do you _have_ to eat whole chickens, or is any meat okay? I was going to make steaks but I don’t want to be rude.”

Her mouth waters at the thought. Steak. Red meat, bloody and juicy and hot. Yum.

Rey blinks and nods eagerly. Her mind wanders when she thinks of meat. Food. She’s often very hungry. Always ready for a meal.

Ben nods, raising his eyebrows. “Yeah? Well that’s good. We can have dinner together that way—though I’m not going to lie, I was looking forward to seeing you swallow a chicken whole.”

She smiles when he laughs again. She could, if he would like her to. Her throat is very flexible.

Ben motions and she obediently perches at the kitchen island to watch him cook. Perhaps one day he can teach her so she can provide their meals instead. She is nearly impervious to heat and his fragile human skin burns so easily.

He rolls up his sleeves to the elbows. Rey watches, twiddling her thumbs in her lap. Isaac was very thin. Easy to snap his bones and suck out the marrow. Ben is a large man—muscular. Strong. Heavy bones.

She stares at his fingers looped around the refrigerator door, slowly cocking her head. Hm. She’s never often taken the time to study human men like this. They’re very often more repulsive than the women, and she doesn’t observe them much, either. 

“Is there anything you can’t have? Should I leave it unseasoned?”

Rey blinks, nodding. Oh. Yes. Raw meat is best. Ben puckers his lips and shrugs, placing two large slabs of steak on a plate before her. Her fangs prickle. Oh— _oh._ Oh that looks delicious.

“Have at it,” Ben says. He points to one of the steaks. “This one is mine but you can eat now if you want. Don’t have to wait for me.”

It must be very rude, but Rey is excruciatingly hungry. She peers up at him and he nods and gestures to the slab of meat, and she can’t resist. Fresh meat. Cold from the refrigerator, but not rotten or cooked or sullied. Just raw flesh.

She opens her mouth wide, hissing to flatten her lungs while she swallows her prey—and in several seconds the steak is down her throat, stretching it, and her mouth snaps shut. She opens her jaw several times until it clicks back into place, and the steak is already halfway down her esophagus.

Ben’s mouth is agape. Rey looks from side to side and chirps, tapping her fingertips together. Is he unhappy?

He defrosts after several more seconds. He smiles but it does not seem genuine.

“Wow.” Ben runs a hand through his hair, turning away to the stove. “Remind me not to make you mad.”

Rey isn’t sure what to make of his response. She studies her hands, allowing them to shift into claws and back to fingers once more. Perhaps she should make a better effort to eat politely around her human. Masticate, like he does.

Ben turns on a radio and music floats across the kitchen while he cooks his food. It’s very interesting the lengths humans will go to for their taste buds: the time involved in giving their food flavor and cooking it thoroughly to kill pathogens. He adds salt, another human staple, and pungent spices that make Rey wrinkle her nose. All this work just to eat a slab of meat. Hm.

But he seems to enjoy the process. He cooks some vegetables along with his steak, which Rey has little interest in. Green stalks and bright orange circles—ick. Isaac forced her to once eat sweet potatoes from a jar and she was grievously ill for days.

Ben finishes another drink. His pale cheeks have a pink flush that draws Rey’s gaze.

“Alcohol is made from grains and grapes and shit, so…” He shrugs, cutting into his steak. “Bet that won’t settle well with you, either.”

Unlikely. Rey nods, tilting her head to watch him take a bite. He chews slowly, raising his eyebrows, and she blinks owlishly back at him.

Ben swallows, motioning with his fork. “If you want to go sit on the couch I can put on a movie. Or if you’re still hungry I can get some cod, but it’s frozen.”

Cod? Rey frowns.

“Fish,” Ben supplies, and she sticks out her tongue in disgust. He smiles. “What? It’s good for you.”

He sets down his utensils and opens his freezer. Rey leans forward to watch him remove a clear package with pale white filets, which he presents to her. It reeks of water and freezer burn and she leans back, repulsed. Awful.

Ben laughs and puts it back. “Have you ever had tuna?”

She shakes her head, and Ben moves to a cabinet. How exciting—trying new foods. Ben is very generous. He should eat his dinner before it goes cold.

Rey chirps and taps the edge of his plate when he turns. He’s holding a can of something and sets it down, frowning.

“You want this?” he asks.

She quickly shakes her head, pushing the plate towards him. Of course not. He’s distracted by her. He should eat. She will give him space.

Rey hops down from her chair and points to the living room, chirping. Ben starts to offer her his plate and she shakes her head faster, splaying both hands out. No, no. He’s been very generous. He needs to eat.

“Just let me know if you’re still hungry,” he calls.

She nods, hurrying to the large couch to take a seat. Good. Here she can’t be a distraction. Rather, their poor communication can’t be a distraction. Maybe Ben can teach her how to read someday—not that she would ever have the audacity to ask.

She waits several minutes, sitting ramrod straight with her hands in her lap until Ben joins her. He sits with a fresh glass of his alcohol.

“Do you want to change?” he asks.

Rey avoids his eyes, pausing before nodding. Yes. If he would like her to.

He stands, offering her his hand which she takes after another pause. His skin is warm, palm rough, and she shivers as he leads her toward the stairs.

Ben brings Rey to her bedroom and she waits near the door for him to pick what he would like her to wear. He sips his drink, smiling at her over the rim as he saunters toward her dresser. His dark eyes sweep down her outfit and back up to her face and Rey feels an odd compulsion to look away.

“You don’t need my approval for your outfits,” he says. He sets the glass on top of the dresser and opens a drawer, shrugging. “But if it’s what you want.”

She waits while he searches through her things. Next she would like to bathe—she doesn’t need to often but the outing to the mall has left her feeling uncomfortable.

Ben picks a plain green dress and white underwear, which he offers out to Rey. She scurries over time accept her clothing and makes motions she hopes mimic a waterfall. Shower. Bath. Wash.

He raises his eyebrows and takes a sip of his drink. “You want to take a bath? You sure you won’t turn into a gremlin?”

She frowns but Ben shakes his head and laughs again. He motions for her to follow and she does, elated that he understood what she wanted. Good.

He leads her to the restroom and takes a moment to show her how to use the handles to make water come from the faucet. Isaac did not often give her the opportunity to bathe so she would wash in the sink while he slept. This is a very new concept.

“I’ll be downstairs whenever you’re done,” Ben says as he stands. “Be careful with the cold side—maybe don’t touch it if you can help it.”

Rey nods and chirps her thanks. She begins taking off her shirt, hoping he will help her bathe, and he quickly pulls the hem back down. His pale face turns red up to the tips of his ears and he coughs as he releases her. 

“You should do _some_ things alone,” he says, not unkindly. His glassy dark eyes wander to the door and he clears his throat. “I’ll be downstairs if you need me, okay?”

Disappointed, Rey nods and watches him leave. He closes the door behind him.

The shower contraption is a bit confusing but she manages to get the water started the way Ben did. Rey checks the temperature before peeling off her clothes, and steps under the spray of water without a fleeting thought.

Ice pelts her skin—it is so profoundly cold that Rey’s muscles instantaneously lock, eyes widening, and she collapses against the back of the shower.

Her fall makes a loud _thump_ but the cold rapidly creeps through her limbs and up her throat and silences her. Terror creeps along with the frigid water, slowing her pulse and sapping her strength, and she only manages a slight roll to her side to shield her sensitive belly. Cold—cold— _cold_ —she is not designed to tolerate the cold in any capacity; she is going to die here unable to call for help.

Her human form wanes and fades, tail limply draping around her waist. Rey paws for the edge of the bathtub, shivering violently, claws scraping on the soft porcelain. Help. Help. Please—

A knock.

“…Rey? Are you okay?”

Her lips tremble, numb and weak. Only a minute or two has passed and already she is on the verge of slipping into unconsciousness. She lets her hand slide down the porcelain, tearing a high-pitched gouge through it, and the bathroom door opens.

“Oh, _shit_.”

The water stops. Rey whimpers, eyes fluttering as Ben lifts her from the bathtub in a soft towel. He promptly wraps her in several more and touches a sore spot on the back of her head. She bares her fangs, hissing. The lights blur. It’s difficult to see.

“Fuck.” He cups her cheek. “Hang on a second.”

Heat leeches through her skin and Rey twists toward his palm, ignoring the pulsing pain in her skull. Warmth is more important than pain—if she doesn’t find somewhere warm to bask she will continue to deteriorate. Ben is very warm.

His hand runs down her neck, pressing experimentally. “Is that better? Does that help?”

Rey nods slowly. Yes. Her wound will heal if she increases her body temperature.

Ben lifts her from the floor and carries her to his bedroom. She whimpers when he unwraps the towels and catches a hazy image of him stripping off his shirt, but it’s quickly lost as he joins her in the bed. Little else passes through her mind except the urgent need for warmth, and Rey shamelessly nuzzles under his chin. He draws her in to his embrace, and she greedily saps his heat.

He shudders, squeezing her tight. His heart beats under her ear and she gradually gains the strength to press her palms to his stomach, making the muscles there twitch. Ah. Much better.

Quiet ensues while her body temperature slowly stabilizes. Her powerful instinct to survive fades, and the overpowering urges go with it, leaving Rey feeling embarrassed and unsure and exposed. She did not lie with Isaac when nude and he refrained from touching her. This is very embarrassing.

And she made an error—she was not careful enough. Now she has disturbed Ben and upset him and inconvenienced him.

He inhales, lungs billowing under her ear. How could she be so _stupid_? It’s pathetic. Inexcusable.

Then Ben turns his head and kisses her hair, and Rey’s hearts seem to briefly lose pace. She blinks rapidly, stunned, hot lava pouring into her face. Oh. Oh.

“You okay?” he murmurs. His breath is warm on her scalp, and she realizes belatedly that she hasn’t shifted back to human form. She squirms, anxious, and he hugs her closer. “It’s okay. It’s just me, Rey.”

She _knows_ it’s him; that’s why she would like to flee. Rey swallows as she shifts form, cheek smushed against her human’s warm breast, and she glances up toward his jaw. Embarrassed as she is—it feels very nice to be embraced like this. Kisses are very nice, too. And Ben is warm and soft.

He kisses her hair again and she closes her eyes, chirping lightly. Her blunt human fingertips press into his skin.

“You like that, hm?” Ben mumbles against her hair, and she nods tentatively. “Good. I’m glad.”

They lie there curled up together for some time, and Rey drifts off to sleep, wound knitting back together. She smiles faintly. Ben gives very nice kisses.


	5. Chapter 5

Rey feels much better when she wakes.

The bedroom has grown dark—she’s slept the entire day away like the fool she is, and a pulse of fear makes her sit upright. She hurriedly corrects her appearance right down to her weak human eyes that can’t see in the dark. Ben? Where is Ben? Did he leave? Has he tired of her?

Her lower lip quivers and she chirps for him. Hello? Hello? Ben? Hello?

Water flushes. Rey chirps higher, anxiety tingling up her spine, and she hears his muffled voice: ‘Polo.’

The bedroom door opens and Ben peers inside, quickly shutting it behind him and coming to the bed. Rey realizes she’s _in his bed_ and what an insult that is to him, and she scrambles to get up and return to her own bedroom. Here she is calling out for him like a frightened kit—

He grabs her forearm as he lies down. “Hey, hey—it’s okay. Come here.”

Rey resists only slightly as she’s pulled into his embrace once more, nestled under the sheets. Her bare back is pressed to his chest and he gathers her wrists in his hand to secure them, pulling her close. It does strange things to her belly.

“It’s okay,” he repeats in a mumble. He’s very warm. “Feeling better?”

She nods, and feels him nod behind her. This type of affection is very foreign to her— _embracing_ and such—and she finds it mildly uncomfortable. Nice, but somehow… anxiety-inducing. Perhaps because she is still nude.

Rey shivers. It’s overwhelming. So much physical contact. She was not permitted these things with her mother and spent many nights crying for her as a kit, but learned to find comfort in the four cement walls she called home. There wasn’t any other choice, unless she wanted to go mad.

Now she has all the affection one could want and she has the audacity to feel uncomfortable. What a spoiled beast she is.

Ben is still for several minutes until Rey thinks he’s fallen asleep. Then he stirs, squeezing her wrists, and his lips brush the shell of her ear. Tingles race to the tip of her nose and the tips of her toes as he kisses her, languidly roaming up to her temple.

He stops there, then heaves a sigh.

“Goodnight, Rey.”

She waits for more kisses but this time Ben goes to sleep. She does the same.

—•—

“Rey—it’s time to wake up.”

Rey frowns as she rouses to a hand on her shoulder. It doesn’t feel like morning but sure enough, sunlight pours in through the window and birds sing outside.

She blinks blearily and finds Ben standing beside the bed, leaned over and rubbing her bare shoulder with his thumb. Her hearts skip: he’s already dressed in dress pants and a clean blue shirt which means she woke up after him—which she shouldn’t do.

She sits up quickly, clutching at the blankets to hide her nakedness. Ben sits on the edge of the bed.

“I brought something for you to wear,” he says. There are some articles of clothing draped over his thick arm. “I’m going to make us lunch while you get dressed.”

Oh—good. Good. She chirps as he sets a green dress on the bed for her, along with a pair of underwear. She has very little need for a bra and she likes the freedom of a dress. Pants are so cumbersome.

Ben nods and smiles. He hesitates, then stands, rubbing the back of his neck.

He gestures to the clothes. “I mean, I can help you if you want. I just don’t want to be intrusive.”

Oh—yes. Yes. That would be good, to be certain it’s done to his liking. Rey nods, wringing her hands.

Ben motions in her direction. “Okay—just lie back.”

She hurries to flop on her back, crossing her ankles shyly at first. He’s already seen her nude but there is something very vulnerable about her position that causes extra anxiety, and she tenses when he holds up the pair of underwear. This is okay. This is what he wants, and what her human wants is what she wants.

Rey hesitantly spreads her legs enough for Ben to slip the underwear over them. He guides them up to her hips, fingertips skating her bare skin, and he grasps her hips in both large hands. He smiles, and she tries to smile back, wringing her hands.

A silent moment passes. Ben searches her face before leaning over to kiss her forehead—and he lingers, then drifts to her temple, big hands moving from her hips. Rey swallows as he trails light kisses down her cheek to her neck, tingles following wherever he touches. She squirms, biting her lower lip. It feels nice. It makes her stomach clench.

He kisses along her collarbone to her shoulder and Rey chirps. Her cheeks burn as soon as the soft sound comes out. How embarrassing.

“You like this, hm?” he murmurs. She nods shyly, and Ben brushes her hair back from her forehead, combing his fingers through. “Me too.”

He carries on that way for a handful of minutes, lulling Rey close to sleep. It’s stimulating but very relaxing being doted upon and his fingers are gentle in her hair. She closes her eyes while he kisses her and brushes her and soon her chirps lilt into purrs.

Ben cups her cheek in his warm palm, lips at her ear. Her toes push on his belt.

“I think you’re a very beautiful girl,” he whispers.

Rey warbles, squirming. _Beautiful_ seems like a strong word and she isn’t accustomed to these compliments and kisses and she growls nervously. Her skin is hot.

He nudges her temple. “And you’re so well-behaved, too—so sweet and obedient.” He kisses her, lowering his voice. “Such a perfect little girl.”

Her insides melt and bubble. She’s grateful for her inability to respond to him at that moment, and moments later, Ben draws away from her.

He helps Rey to her feet and slips the dress over her head, then sends her to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face. She scurries there quickly, careful to use warm water when brushing. His words are… strange, but she likes them for some reason.

She tiptoes downstairs afterwards in a pair of slippers Ben left for her outside the bathroom. It’s a bit cold but she doesn’t mind, as long as Ben is happy.

He’s in the kitchen setting up breakfast at the island, and he smiles when he sees her. Rey slinks to her chair and he offers her an egg.

Her mouth waters and she snatches it before he changes her mind. Ben laughs as she swallows it whole, then he gives her another and she crunches through the thin shell. Delicious. Gooey. It’s cold from the refrigerator but the slide down her throat is heavenly.

“You like them too, huh?” he asks, smiling when she nods. “No fish, though. What about shellfish?”

Rey cringes. She will tolerate it, but her kind does not eat prey from the sea.

Ben finishes cooking his breakfast and sits across from her while he eats. Humans are much more measured when they feed: delicate and careful, taking small bites and chewing slowly. They have weak stomach acid. Weak bodies. Very breakable bones.

Rey consumes half a dozen eggs and several strips of bacon, along with a glass of water. Most of her moisture is obtained from drinking her prey’s blood.

Ben wipes his hands when he’s done, clearing his throat.

“So I was thinking—” He gesticulates toward the ceiling. “You should learn how to read and write.”

She blinks, too surprised to do much else. Ben rolls his tongue along his cheek and takes a sip of coffee.

“I can teach you English,” he continues, “and I found a book with your language, too. Niiman, right?”

Yes. Rey nods, hesitant. She is Niima, like her mother, and cousins, and the rest of her race. They each have a unique first name but are all connected by the last.

She has never seen her language, save for the few scrawls her mother tried to teach her: ‘help,’ ‘pain,’ ‘yes,’ ‘no.’ Only a few lessons, before the guards found out and mother was punished.

Ben shrugs, studying his mug. “They’re only supposed to be sold to universities but one of my employees sourced one for me. Thought you should have it.”

Rey stares at him blankly. Why? Surely he knows the risk he’s taking if she becomes literate. She can communicate with her kind, and other humans, and that means she isn’t beholden to him.

Ben clicks his tongue. He glances at her and laughs at her shocked expression.

“I’m not a _complete_ piece of shit,” he says. “You should know your, uh… heritage. Important to know where you came from.”

Her eyes burn with tears. Why is he doing this? What is his ulterior motive? Surely he wouldn’t do such a kind thing for no reason. Is it the kisses? She likes those. Does he think he needs to give her gifts in exchange?

He rises from his seat and comes around the island to her. Rey’s lower lip quivers and she reaches out meekly for him, hands shaking, afraid she’ll be rejected—but he gathers her from the chair, lifting her into his arms. She buries her face in his neck and sobs and finds it feels very nice.

Ben squeezes her, shushing as he slowly turns. One arm is under her bottom and the other around her back, and he carries her out to the living room.

“I _really_ need to stop making you cry,” he sighs.

He sits on the couch, adjusting her in his lap so her legs are curled together. Rey chirps pitifully, curling closer and nuzzling under his jaw as he settles them under a blanket. Surely this isn’t real. He must have some other plans for her.

She shapeshifts, emotions getting the better of her. Ben startles—she’s shrunk, adopted the small human form she likes; the one that makes her feel safe. Her dress slides off her shoulder and she curls into a tight ball against Ben’s chest, trembling. Maybe he’s going to kill her. Humans are sadistic like that.

They’re still for some time. Ben doesn’t speak except to gently shush her, and he doesn’t move at all. He dislikes this form but—she can’t bring herself to shapeshift again.

“…Do you feel better this way?”

Rey nods, sniffling. He’s quiet for another minute, then kisses the top of her head.

“Good,” he says. “Let’s just stay here for a little while, then.”

She nods more and he hugs her tighter. That sounds very nice.


	6. Chapter 6

It takes some time before Rey feels well enough to stand between Ben’s knees and attempt transforming. She rubs her eyes, sniffling and struggling to shift pieces of her body at a time, but they quickly revert to the child size.

It is embarrassing to be so poorly in control of her abilities. Tears well up in her eyes again.

Ben grasps her hands in both of his, murmuring when the tears roll down her cheeks. He is very confusing. Any kindness humans have ever shown her has always been a trick and it’s difficult—impossible—to imagine Ben could be any different.

“It’s okay,” he soothes. “It’s okay.” He squeezes her hands, then shifts forward to the edge of the couch to reach up and wipe the tears from her cheeks. “Really, don’t worry about it. I want you to be comfortable.”

Rey hiccups. That makes Ben laugh and she smiles a little as he stands, watching him from under her lashes. He’s even taller when she’s this size, and his big, rough hands easily clean her face. Mother also had rough hands.

“You’re so cute.” He smiles, curling loose strands of hair behind her ears.

Ben’s dark eyes search her face and his smile fades. He’s quiet for a minute so Rey chirps softly to him. He smiles once more, but still stares, and soon his expression is blank again.

His fingers unfurl, curling around her head to cradle her. Rey sniffles and chirps.

“…Do you like me, Rey?” he asks.

She nods. Yes. Beyond her obligation to like him.

“I like you, too.”

That pleases her. Very much. She smiles and manages a purr that’s interrupted by another hiccup.

There is a pause—then Ben leans down and kisses her lips.

Rey jerks back in shock. This is unlike the other kisses he’s been giving her. It’s strange and intimate and she wilts when he whispers and kisses her again. His mouth is warm and his lips are soft. Unfamiliar heat pools in her belly. She has never experienced this. She’s _witnessed_ it, and received platonic kisses from her mother—but this is not platonic. She assumes.

Rey wrings her hands while Ben gently rolls her lower lip through his teeth. Her mouth tingles and if she were capable of sweating, she imagines it would be pouring down her neck.

He pauses, glancing down where she’s wringing her hands emphatically near her stomach. She stops, dropping her gaze to the floor. Her skin is hot.

Ben removes his hands from cupping her face and puts them in his pockets. She can feel him watching her, expectant, but she is very overwhelmed. This is very nerve wracking. She is _very_ hot.

“Do you want me to give you some space?” Ben asks after a pregnant pause.

Rey shakes her head. She’s tapping her fingertips, hearts racing. No—she doesn’t want him to leave but she also cannot bear standing here under his gaze. Doesn’t he dislike this form? He seemed so uncomfortable when she showed it to him before.

“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.” Ben lifts her fingertips along the sides of his and she manages to curl her fingers around his first two. “I’ll get the picture if you growl at me.”

Boundaries are a luxury Rey has never been afforded. Whatever the human’s whim, she is expected to obey and tolerate it—or be punished.

But she doesn’t _dislike_ Ben kissing her. It isn’t something she has to tolerate in the way she tolerated Isaac and she’s tolerated all the humans she’s ever encountered. Ben gives her choices and options and doesn’t speak to her in the crude, demanding way she’s accustomed to. He is very kind but she finds it difficult to unlearn how manipulative and gruesome most humans are.

“Why don’t I show you the den?”

Rey nods, and Ben kisses the crown of her head before leading her from the living room. She has not yet seen the den. Humans often store books there.

He brings her to a door on the opposite side of the cabin that was avoided in the initial tour. Ben opens the door and gestures for her to enter, so she does, still avoiding his eyes.

Strange that humans call this room a ‘den.’ Rey would have a den of her own if she were permitted, and it would be filled with soft furs and moss and ferns instead of worn old human books. She folds her arms, looking about the small room lined with shelves full of books she cannot read. It smells faintly of must and weathered paper. There is a small desk against the window.

Ben gestures to the books. “Little too cramped for me to teach you in here but you’re welcome to read the books. We can sit at the kitchen table or out in the living room.”

To learn his language—Human. There are many dialects of Human, but only one of Niima. Unity was important to Rey’s people. _Is_ important. Without cohesion, she is at sea; drowning alone in the perplexing human world.

An odd flicker of irritation buzzes in her mind, something she is unaccustomed to. She thinks, selfishly, that she would prefer to learn Niiman before Human.

Selfish. Selfish, selfish. Ben has shown her nothing but kindness and generosity and she has the gall—she is a selfish, awful thing. All he has ever wanted in return are kisses she enjoys anyway, and she is reduced to tears each time like a newborn kit mewling for its mother. Reprehensible.

Rey turns to regard him. He smiles, hands in his pockets. Ben is a very nice human. She fears her selfish thoughts are noticeable.

She arches on the tips of her toes to kiss his cheek and draws back swiftly, chirps bashful, cheeks tingling with warmth. She peers at Ben from under her lashes, clenching her dress in her fists.

He raises his eyebrows and his smile doesn’t falter. He tilts his head, somewhat expectantly.

“Just one?”

Her chest swells. She’s vibrating with nervous energy but it’s all very exciting and warm and lovely, so Rey shuffles closer and he bends to make her next kiss on his opposite cheek a bit easier. He is very close—she shyly kisses the corner of his mouth, then he turns and kisses her lips.

Heat snakes down her spine and curls her toes. Rey breaks away after several seconds, trilling and lowering her gaze, but Ben follows.

It’s very exciting. She is vaguely aware of the fundamentals of sexuality and reproduction in humans but beyond being forced to watch Isaac pleasure himself, she has no experience, and did not react to him in this way. She did not resemble a human child as closely as he wished, so he had little use for her, and she for him.

But she finds Ben arousing. In many ways.

He ambles two steps towards her and she finds herself crowded against a bookshelf. Ben keeps his hands in his pockets as he leans down to whisper in her ear.

“I think you need to change into that pretty yellow dress.” Her dress shifts, and she realizes he’s rubbing the fabric between his fingertips. “This one is too big on you now.”

Rey nods, and Ben kisses her temple. His soft kisses carry on as grasps her hands in his, squeezing before tracing his fingertips up her arms. Gooseflesh trails with his touch up to her shoulders, and he hooks his fingers over the fabric, gently drawing it down to expose her bare skin.

“You’re so little,” he murmurs. Fingertips from one hand skim her clavicle to the junction of her throat. “Aren’t you?”

Yes, she thinks, nodding. This is true.

Ben helps her free her arms from the dress and it falls with a soft rustle to the hard floor. She is almost nude with the exception of her panties, and a chill in the air sends a small shiver up her spine.

She doesn’t think much of Ben nuzzling her hair, inhaling, wrapping his arms around her. He hugs her to his warm body and Rey hesitantly wraps her arms as far around his broad middle as they can go. Humans like hugging. She is unaccustomed to it.

His embrace tightens.

“After we put on your pretty dress—” Ben swallows, pausing. “Can you sit on my lap while I work?”

Yes, of course she can. Rey beams and nods, careful not to hurt Ben with her embrace. Sometimes she forgets her own strength.

He doesn’t speak for a long minute. He continues hugging her and gradually, something heavy and unpleasant settles in her bones like tar. A powerful emotion is overcoming Ben.

Their embrace ends as he suddenly pulls away. He passes a hand through his hair and shakes his head.

“I’m sorry,” he says. He keeps shaking his head, dark eyes watery. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Ben leaves the room. Rey pursues, chirping anxiously from the weight of his grief—he is _very_ upset and it is her responsibility to help him.

And she likes the kisses and hugs. He knows she does. Right?

He doesn’t say anything more. Ben dresses himself for the cold weather in a bit of a rush, and Rey is forced to move away from the door when it opens or risk becoming severely ill again.

She chirps and warbles once he leaves, pacing near the living room window. Where has he gone? Doesn’t he want her?


	7. Chapter 7

It is much too cold for Rey to pursue Ben out into the world beyond the front door. She tries: she opens it and calls out for him, but only finds darkness and snow drifts waiting for her. The cold rapidly gnaws into her bones and she is forced to close the door and retreat to her bedroom for warmth.

Once there she shrugs into her yellow dress and crawls into her pile of clothes to await his return. She chirps to herself, trying to self-soothe the way she did after mother died. She was taken one day and did not come back.

But Ben will come back. Sooner or later, Ben will come back.

—•—

A soft click rouses Rey some time later.

It’s quite dark but her eyes adjust in a blink: she sees the fringe of her den and senses movement beyond it. She has not shifted from her small human form and she curls into a tighter ball, nuzzling into a shirt to hide her face. Oh no. What if it’s an intruder? She’ll be forced to kill him and Ben may be unhappy.

But the harsh smell of alcohol precedes her visitor and she picks up a familiar warm scent layered underneath: Ben. He has arrived home from his outing, just like she knew he would.

Rey beams but does not move as Ben pushes aside parts of her nest to make room for himself. She’s facing the wall, vibrating with excitement; perhaps she will turn suddenly to startle him, and perhaps she’ll be permitted to kiss him again. She rubs her ankles together under her blanket as the bed creaks and Ben lies down behind her.

He moves closer. His arm slides around Rey’s middle and he smells her hair, gently tugging her into his embrace. She squirms and chirps and tilts her jaw to give him access to her neck. More kisses. She’s been wanting more for _hours_ now.

“What?” Ben mumbles. He wraps his arm all the way around her waist and squeezes her hard. “Did you miss me?”

She nods. Yes. She isn’t entirely sure why he left in the first place but she still feels tendrils of guilt and anxiety springing from him, muted by the alcohol.

“I missed you, too.” He burrows into her neck, taking a quivering deep breath. “I hoped I wouldn’t. Keep hoping these… feelings will go away.”

Rey is a bit lost. She frowns but brightens when he tentatively kisses her neck. She purrs softly and closes her eyes as Ben winds his way up her cheek and shuffles closer. He’s draped across her back now, half lying on top of her. It gives the comfortable sense of a warm, heavy embrace; of safety. In this form she is much smaller than him. It is very nice.

Ben groans, nuzzling her neck and hugging her to tightly it forces the breath from her lungs. He pauses that way for a moment before releasing her.

“Do you like this, Rey?” he asks, voice rough and slurred. “What we’ve been doing together?”

She nods. She would never say otherwise, but it is one of the few times she has not had to mislead her human master. Ben makes her very happy.

Rey wriggles in his grip and it loosens enough that she can turn to face him. His dark eyes are watery like they were when he left, glassy from the alcohol. She hesitates before cupping his face in both hands. He has a very interesting face. Her fingers are long enough just to cradle his cheeks and little else.

Ben kisses her. His mouth is wet and tastes of liquor but she kisses him in return, hearts pattering. Heat coils down to the tips of her toes.

He pauses. Rey finds herself breathing quicker than usual and she takes a sharp breath when he kisses her again, rougher and hungrier, pressing his weight forward to slot his knee between her legs. He is very heavy—very warm. He is nearly lying on top of her and she finds she _likes_ it and wants to draw him nearer to the pressure building between her legs.

She shifts her hips curiously, squeezing Ben’s thigh between her own. It produces pleasant tingles in her stomach so she shifts a bit more and grasps his shirt in her fists, whimpering into his mouth. It feels _very_ nice.

Ben slowly breaks their kiss. He’s quiet for a moment, running his big hand up her back and kissing her cheek. Rey rolls her hips faster, breathing picking up—there is something happening but she is unsure what it is. It is a bit nerve-wracking and she whimpers again, pulling at his shirt.

“It’s okay,” he whispers. “It feels good, doesn’t it?” She nods and he sighs, slipping into a groan as he kisses down her jaw to her neck. “You’re so fucking perfect.”

Rey is not _perfect_ —and she is unsure what that has to do with anything. But her thoughts turn back to the mounting pressure between her legs, and Ben’s kisses turn to nibbles, and she feels she is on the precipice of something, about to tumble over the edge—

Her eyes pop open. The fragile control she has over her form slips as pleasure comes: Rey gasps and grits her teeth but her fangs come forth and her jaw aches. She writhes against Ben’s thigh, helpless and overcome—and then she bites his shirt.

It’s soothing to clench down on the soft fabric. She sinks her sharp fangs through in one swift bite, eyes rolling back. Her mind is awash with warmth and pleasure and she only vaguely considers that, had she only dipped forward another inch, she would have bitten Ben through the shoulder. She would have perhaps torn a chunk out of him.

Rey pulls back sharply, tearing free a piece of Ben’s shirt. It sticks to her fangs and she yowls in distress, kicking her feet and pawing at the rough fabric in her mouth. She notices her hands, now covered in small red scales with only four talon-tipped fingers. Oh no. Oh no.

Ben clicks his tongue when she panics, struggling to escape and hide her shame. She has reverted to her alien form and it is not permitted under any circumstances. She will surely be punished.

“Hey, hey—it’s okay. It’s okay.” He cups her narrow jaw in one hand and continues shushing her. He’s smiling. “Let me help.”

Rey goes very still, breathing hard. Ben gently removes the scrap of fabric from her fangs and discards it. He is likely very upset with her.

But instead he cups her cheek and searches her face. She swallows, gazing back at him in equal silence for a moment before attempting an apologetic warble. It may be some time until she can revert forms.

She attempts a smile, but it is difficult with a mouth full of fangs, and she thinks her gums retract too far. Ben cocks his head when she lets her lips relax to cover most of her teeth. They still jut out a bit. Humans find it very upsetting

He stares at her mouth for another moment before leaning forward to kiss her fangs. Rey squeezes his shirt in her fists, still the same small size—her species is smaller than the average human.

Ben raises his eyebrows, gaze lidded. “Did you like that?”

She nods shyly. It has made her very tired, despite her anxiety from her accidental transformation.

He smiles. His eyes wander down her body and his hand follows, smoothing her dress along the waist to rest on her hip. He curls his fingers around the bone and swallows audibly. There is an odd dark emotion swimming beneath the surface.

“You look beautiful,” Ben says, still staring at her hip. “Either way. Whatever way.” He pauses, rubbing his thumb around her hip bone. “And you look very nice in your dress.”

Rey beams as he looks back up at her. It is much too difficult to kiss him so she chirps instead, and he smiles, but his dark eyes are rather distant and sad. Ben says she is ‘beautiful’—compliments are quite rare for her and she has never received one regarding her physical appearance. Particularly her alien one.

Ben eases his weight to his side and Rey eagerly squirms into his embrace. He draws her blanket around them. This is a very exciting evening: she has experienced sexual pleasure, has received compliments, and it appears Ben will be joining her in her nest. What a lovely evening.

“Are you…” He settles his arm around her waist. She is tucked under his chin. “Are you an adult, Rey? For your species.”

She nods. Yes. Her mind matures earlier than a human would, but she has been alive for two decades or so. Perhaps three. It can be difficult to keep count.

Ben sighs, shaky. “Okay—that’s good, I guess. At least I’m not doing this with… with a, uh…”

Rey peers up at him curiously. He lapses into silence and appears acutely uncomfortable, shrugging, then swallowing, then scratching his head.

“It’s different if you’re _really_ underage,” he says in a strained voice. “But I guess this is just role play, right? Since you’re an adult and I’m an adult.” He clears his throat and his eyes water but he ignores it. “I thought I’d stop wanting it. Feels like I’m sliding backwards doing this.”

She frowns, tilting her head. Sliding backwards from what? She thought they were mutually enjoying the experience.

Ben shivers and shakes his head. He kisses her forehead and guides her under his chin again, where she is happy to burrow in. He is very warm; very soft. His arms are very safe.

“It’s just role play,” he mutters. His embrace tightens. “I’m not hurting anyone. You like it, I like it—you’re not fourteen. You just can _look_ fourteen.” His throat bobs. “We’re both adults.”

Rey chirps softly. Her eyes flutter shut. Yes, they are both adults. She is his property, however, and cut off from the full range of her gifts by the collar around her neck. She thinks that does not make them _equals_ —and she thinks that is what Ben truly wants.

She hums, drifting off to sleep. Perhaps that is what he wants. She has never really understood humans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> twitter: @malreverie  
> carrd: malevolentreverie.carrd.co


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